Two weeks. That's how long Jacob was gone before I decided I had to do something to cheer up Connor. He was moping around all the time, only smiling when people spoke directly to him and even then it was usually forced, much like the fake smile he plastered on while teaching. So, on Friday, I gathered up Sam and Jess, taking them with me to Connor's house to stay the night. I'd planned for Lily to watch them for a couple hours and she met me on the front porch.
"So you're taking him out?" Lily asked me as we waited for Connor to answer the door.
"Yep. He needs to stop thinking about this for a few hours."
"Troye? Lily? Why are you here?" Connor had a frown on his face when he opened the door to find us on his porch.
"Lily's watching the kids for us. You're coming with me." I informed him, pushing past him into the house. Sam and Jess went over to the sofa in the living room where Penny was kneeling up to watch. The three kids soon started talking and laughing together while Lily went over to the kitchen to get food for them. Meanwhile, I dragged Connor to his bedroom and made him sit on the bed, rummaging through his wardrobe.
"What are you doing, Troye?"
"Here. Put these on." I replied, shoving a clean shirt and pants at him. He took them and went into the bathroom to change, clearly getting that I wasn't about to argue with him.
"Happy?" When he emerged, I was busy looking at his collection of shoes to choose the perfect ones for the night ahead. I looked up and had to swallow back a flirtatious comment. I couldn't be doing that tonight, but, damn, he looked good.
"That's better. Here are your shoes. Put them on and we'll go."
"Where? Troye, I really don't want to go anywhere tonight."
"That's exactly why we're going. Now come on." He gave in with a roll of his eyes and sat on the bed to put on his shoes. "Perfect. Let's go."
"Troye..."
"Nope." I cut him off, grabbing him by the arm and practically dragging him along behind me to the front door. "Bye guys. We'll be back later. Have fun tonight and don't get into too much mischief."
"Bye, daddy."
"Bye, dad."
"Bye, Papa."
"See you later guys." There was an overlapping chorus from the kids and Lily just before I close the door behind us.
"Okay, Troye, I really don't feel up to playing whatever this game is. I just want to spend the night at home. With Penny."
"Connor, that's all you've done for the past two weeks. You need some time off from being a dad. And from worrying about the next time Jacob will call. So, we're going into the city to this club I found and you're going to have fun."
"I don't know that I can."
"That's what alcohol is for, Connor," I told him with a smirk. Since I was driving, I wasn't planning on drinking but I had a backup plan in case I ended up drinking to convince Connor to.
--------------------
"Troye! I love this song!" Connor yelled in my ear, hanging off my shoulder. He stumbled a little but managed to steady himself by catching the bar with one hand. I laughed and raised my own glass to my lips.
"It's a good song." I agreed.
"We had it at our wedding..." His face fell as he obviously thought about Jacob and I bit my lip, waving to the bartender for another drink.
